Staff WriterBy all accounts, Altin van der Merwe has come full circle. The South African returns to Glendower Golf Club this week for the Fortress Invitational, the same event where he made his professional debut as a wide-eyed amateur back in 2023. But this time around, the stakes are higher, the emotions deeper — and his life very different.
Van der Merwe tees it up on Thursday for the Sunshine Tour event carrying not just his clubs, but a brand-new title that dwarfs all others: father.
“My spirits are high, and golf is not the only thing that matters anymore,” said Van der Merwe, who’s been in exceptional form lately. With back-to-back finishes of fourth and second, he’s climbed into the top 10 on The Courier Guy Order of Merit and looks every bit a player on the rise.
“The last two tournaments were nice. In both I was in contention and had a chance to win. I just went back to an old swing thought and it’s worked for me,” he added, with that understated grin of a man who knows his game — and his life — are finally in sync.
When he first walked these fairways two years ago, Van der Merwe was still learning what it meant to compete at this level. Nerves got the better of him at times, but even then he managed to post a solid tied-30th finish.
“I was so nervous that week as an amateur, and yet I did well,” he recalled. “I’m a lot more relaxed now. It’s strange because Glendower is not a course that really suits me, but I’ve learnt how to play it.
But also, with the birth of my daughter, I feel like whether it goes well or not on the golf course, when I’m finished playing it’s over and I don’t worry about it until the next round.”
That’s the kind of wisdom you don’t find on the practice range. Perspective is the quietest weapon in golf, and Van der Merwe seems to have found it.
Last season, he was crowned Fortress Rookie of the Year, and now, in just his second campaign on the Sunshine Tour, he’s already posted three top-five finishes. With the bigger co-sanctioned events with the DP World Tour and HotelPlanner Tour still ahead this summer, momentum couldn’t be arriving at a better time.
“It’s been going well, and if it can continue it would be great,” said Van der Merwe, sounding more grounded than ever.
Golf might still be his profession, but fatherhood has given Altin van der Merwe something far greater than prize money or trophies — perspective. And with that comes freedom. The kind that just might lead to his first professional win.
